How Creativity and a simple daily plan contribute to holistic wellbeing. Tutorial

Wellness is the complete integration of body, mind and spirit – the recognition that everything we do effects our state of well-being’.   

Through Mother Nature we see how all of life is interconnected. – watercolour

To change one fraction of a painting, – changes the whole painting.     This is true for life….to change one small part of ourselves, (positively or negatively), changes the whole. 

Adding 15 minutes of movement can change our whole day.  (running a marathon is not necessary)

Clearing the space in which we live, can clear our minds…

Without establishing simple routines, our need to be creative can be neglected. 

When we begin to address these simple needs we experience a sense of wellbeing. 

This watercolour exercise demonstrates that as we change one small portion of a painting, or ourselves, everything changes. 

  All the pure whites you see here are ‘dry white paper’.   I am sketching with brush and watercolour allowing some areas to bleed.    This is very quick…don’t overthink things – simply allow the paint to flow.    There is no right or wrong way to do this. 

In this frame I have added a mix of burnt Sienna and prussian blue for the dark area at the bottom of the painting.         Using a knife I have scraped out some of the paint while it is still wet.    All the remaining white areas are ‘Dry White Paper’As we make positive simple changes, stress is replaced with a calmness which supports the whole.     This is holistic well-being.    

Note I have moved the light and darker purples around the painting…in order to achieve a sense of rhythm and balance. 

Make sure to begin with a simple daily plan.    

• 

15 minutes of creative playfulness can change everything.

Enjoy the weekend. Janet 🙂

How Creativity and a simple daily plan contribute to holistic wellbeing. Tutorial

Wellness is the complete integration of body, mind and spirit – the recognition that everything we do effects our state of well-being’.   

Through Mother Nature we see how all of life is interconnected. – watercolour

To change one fraction of a painting, – changes the whole painting.     This is true for life….to change one small part of ourselves, (positively or negatively), changes the whole. 

Adding 15 minutes of movement can change our whole day.  (running a marathon is not necessary)

Clearing the space in which we live, can clear our minds…

Without establishing simple routines, our need to be creative can be neglected. 

When we begin to address these simple needs we experience a sense of wellbeing. 

This watercolour exercise demonstrates that as we change one small portion of a painting, or ourselves, everything changes. 

  All the pure whites you see here are ‘dry white paper’.   I am sketching with brush and watercolour allowing some areas to bleed.    This is very quick…don’t overthink things – simply allow the paint to flow.    There is no right or wrong way to do this. 

In this frame I have added a mix of burnt Sienna and prussian blue for the dark area at the bottom of the painting.         Using a knife I have scraped out some of the paint while it is still wet.    All the remaining white areas are ‘Dry White Paper’As we make positive simple changes, stress is replaced with a calmness which supports the whole.     This is holistic well-being.    

Note I have moved the light and darker purples around the painting…in order to achieve a sense of rhythm and balance. 

Make sure to begin with a simple daily plan.    

• 

15 minutes of creative playfulness can change everything.

Enjoy the weekend. Janet 🙂

From Childhood to Childlike….

On a windy morning this past week, I saw a young child running after leaves left over from the autumn.       I could see the child’s joy and excitement.

Maya – one of my youngest models from the Boathouse Studio series.   Watercolour. 

In that moment I was taken back to my own childhood and in particular an experience I had when I was about seven years old.      It was a another very windy day and I was riding my bike down a hill enjoying the feeling  that I was flying with the wind.

Observing the little child this week, I was reminded of the playfulness, joy and curiosity inherent in childhood and how vital a foundation block this period of our life is as we move through adolescence into adulthood.

Rapid watercolour demonstration – during workshop on the banks of the River Usk, Wales.    Children frolicking in the water….  circa 2004

As we move into adolescence we have a need to find the truth about ourselves.  We no longer  accept the advice of others – preferring to learn by our own personal experience.  I remember this period so well…both as a child and a parent…..

Rapid watercolour of adolescent French boy  – circa 1995. 

Then as we reach adulthood, we become more caring and responsible for the world around us.   We discover a strong desire to fulfil our own unique expression of life.     We begin to gain perspective and to stay in touch with our heart.

My daughter Christie – watercolour – circa January 2016. 

As we age, having seen many cycles of birth and death, a certain wisdom grows within.

Watercolour – Madame Nottale – France  circa 2012

A childlike quality is revealed.

I have observed this with my 95 year old Mother and many others who have reached old age.     The delight in a ninety year old’s eyes when a dog or young child visits is the same sort of delight shown by children chasing leaves or experiencing other simple pleasures.

A wonderful quote from Pablo Picasso – 

‘Every child is an artist.   The problem is how to remain an artist once he/she grows up.’  

Today we can fly above all the madness and be playful like magical hummingbirds…..watercolour

A Bientôt       

 

 

 

 

Interconnections….

 

Have a beautiful weekend and enjoy the moments.

HummingbirdHQ.com

http://www.janetweightreed.co.uk

A Bientôt

The peacock

I have used  symbolic peacock imagery in my paintings for many years.    This is a detail from a large oil painting that I am currently working on. 

 

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A Bientôt

Tapestries at Hampton Court Palace

For the past week, I have had a close friend visiting from Paris and so we did some local sight seeing.    Hampton Court Palace, one of the homes of King Henry VIII, is very close to where I live.

In this post, I will show some details from the ten tapestries in the Great Hall, where King Henry VIII held sumptuous dinners, filled with music, dancing and jest.

The Great Hall, Hampton Court Palace where the tapestries telling the story of Abraham, are housed. 

I am interested in the tapestries as beautiful works of art, and also as possible information for the series of paintings I have been working on for nearly 30 years on the subject of ‘interconnectedness’.

The tapestries were commissioned by King Henry VIII to celebrate the birth of his son, Edward, to his third wife, Jane Seymour in 1537.  Tapestries were the most highly valued art form of the 16th century.   Henry VIII had collected more than 2000 by his death.    They were in fact a display of great wealth.

One of my favourite details from one of the ten tapestries 

Note the movement in the horse.

It is often assumed that tapestries are made by women, but in fact during the 16th century this was the work of highly skilled men who had been trained from a very young age. 

The work began with a small painting known as the ‘Petit Patron’ – This is enlarged by the designer into a full scale cartoon.

The value of a tapestry was determined by the artistic quality of the cartoon, skill of the weavers and the density of weave. 

The tapestries in the Great Hall, are interwoven with sliver and gold thread….

I am always aware of the interconnection when viewing work from previous centuries…..

As we walked around the Palace we bumped into one of the courtiers.    Claudia and courtier.

Claudia returned home yesterday after what was a very special week together.

http://www.janetweightreed.co.uk

A Bientôt